Volume 1

  << Previous : The death of Pelias and the games given in his honour Their vengeance carried out Jason and Medea left Iolkos, giving the throne to Acastus and settled in Corinth. Some say Medea became its queen. In some versions a few years later Jason...

  << Previous : The Argonauts in the terrific night then the illumination Pelias, who had stopped believing in the return of the Argonauts, had wanted to put to death Jason’s father Aeson but the latter had asked for the right to bring about his own death....

  << Previous : The Argonauts and the death of the giant Talos Subsequently the heroes were "terrified by a night that can be qualified as sepulchral: this sinister night was pierced neither by stars nor moonlight. It was only a black gaping void emanating...

  << Previous : The Argonauts in the Hesperides garden Having followed his directions the heroes skirted Crete where the giant Talos attacked them with stones. Zeus had offered him to Europa after being united with her. He went around Crete three times a...

  << Previous : The Argonauts and the desert test Having arrived at the shores of Lake Triton the heroes laid down their vessel. Parched with thirst they sought a spring and reached the place where on the previous day a dragon had been guarding the golden...

  << Previous : The union of Jason and Medea Although they had reached the outskirts of their homeland the heroes still had to undergo other trials on the borders of Libya. While the land of Pelops was in sight they were roughly treated by a storm raised by...

  << Previous : The Argonauts avoid Charybdis and Scylla Then the heroes arrived to a vast and fertile island inhabited by the Phaeacians and ruled by King Alcinous where they were very warmly welcomed. Drepane (“the Sickle”) was the name of the sacred...

  << Previous : The Argonauts escape the seduction of the Sirens As Hera had foreseen the heroes then approached Charybdis and Scylla at the “crossroad of the sea routes”. In fact Hera knew that without the intervention of Thetis their route would lead them...

  << Previous : The Argonauts at Circe Before reaching the baneful waters of Charydbis and Scylla, the heroes passed by the Island of Flowers inhabited by the Sirens whose spellbinding songs made all those who moored in proximity to the island perish. But...

  << Previous : Argonauts are confronted with spiritual presumption and the awakening of kundalini Setting sail again the heroes finally reached the harbour of Aeaea where they found Circe, the daughter of Helios and sister of Aeetes. She was cleansing her...

  << Previous : The murder of Apsyrtus by Jason Having entered the Eridanus the heroes sailed close to the place where the body of Phaethon was decaying. The latter had once asked to ride the chariot of his father Helios but was unable to control it and...

  << Previous : The path of the return of the Argonauts Filled with rage Aeetes demanded that his people the Colchians bring back his daughter Medea without further delay. A large army set out in pursuit of the Argonauts under the leadership of Apsyrtus the...

  << Previous : Jason kills the sawn-men raising out from the Dragon’s teeth Canto four deals wilt the return of the Argonauts Since Medea had decided to flee with Jason, she made use of her powers to lull the monstrous dragon to sleep so that Jason could...

  << Previous : The Argonauts and the birds of the island of Ares The third Canto deals with karmic memories. Jason convinced the Argonauts to send just a small delegation to Aeetes. Only the sons of Phrixus along with Telamon and Augeias accompanied him....

  << Previous : The Argonauts pass off the coast of the Chalybes, Tibareni and Mossynoeci ENCOUNTER WITH THE SONS OF PHRIXOS The heroes then approach the island of Ares. It was populated by birds whose feathers fell from the sky like sharp arrows, causing...

  << Previous : The Argonauts on the island of Thynia The myth depicts some other mistakes that the seeker must become aware of even though he does not have to correct them at this stage as the Argonauts sail off the coast. Some of these are the attraction...

  << Previous : The Cyanean rocks or Symplegades (Clashing rocks) This myth illustrates the encounter with the Master or one’s personal path. The Argonauts disembarked on the port of the desert island Thynia. It was the moment just before dawn when a faint...

  << Previous : The Argonauts at Phineus The myth of the Symplegades or Clashing Rocks, also known as the Cyanean Rocks, deals with the first major test for the spiritual seeker. Phineus counsels the heroes in these terms: “After you leave me and come to...

  << Previous : The Argonauts at the Bebryces This story deals with the perturbations of intuition and the impossibility of benefiting from expansions of consciousness The following day the heroes disembark on the land of the Thynians. On the shore dwelled...

  The myth of Jason and the Golden Fleece describes the first steps on the spiritual journey, the encounter with the spiritual master and the tests until the first great spiritual experience. To fully understand this web page, it is recommended to follow the...

  << Previous : The Argonauts at the Dolions The second canto deals with other mistakes of the seeker, the clarifying of intuition, the episode of the dark rocks and the meeting with the true master After describing the risks of being misled Apollonius...

  << Previous : The women of Lemnos This myth deals with inner insincerities which lead to deceptive paths During the night the heroes finished crossing the Hellespont and advanced into the Propontis. Then they reached a peninsula known as “Mount of Bears”...

  << Previous : The departure of the Argo ship The “women of Lemnos” illustrate the quest for “exotic spiritual forms” in lieu of an aspiration to transform oneself The first episode which the seeker is faced with is illustrated by the episode of the women...

  << Previous : The Argonauts The first Canto reports an erring vagrancy of the seeker looking for exotic forms of spirituality and fascinated by spiritual powers  It must be recalled that according to the seekers a wide variety of experiences can occur;...

  << Previous : Jason and the quest of the Golden Fleece Jason’s companions the Argonauts represent the yogic labors that must be developed up to a certain level to begin the quest. We repeatedly will find lists of characters to illustrate the conditions...

  It is to be regretted that the last work of the Epic cycle, the Telegony, signifying 'that which is to be born in the future', has not survived. Said to have been composed by Eugammon of Cyrene in the mid-sixth-century BCE, this last part has only been...

  The souls of the suitors were guided by Hermes. Beyond the course of the Ocean and the White Rock, beyond the Gates of the Sun and the Land of Dreams, they finally reached the Asphodel Meadows inhabited by the shadows. They saw those of Achilles, Patroclus,...

  Euryclia announced to Penelope the return of Odysseus (Ulysses), who went from joy to doubt and then to the will to check his presence herself. She went down into the room, and despite Telemachus' remonstrations, could not fully persuade herself that this...

  After getting rid of his rags, the beggar-Odysseus (Ulysses) fired an arrow into the throat of Antinoos who died immediately. Then he revealed his identity to the suitors green with terror. Then Eurymachos accused Antinoos of being solely responsible for the...

  Penelope fetched the bow, arrows and axes that were stored with Odysseus (Ulysses)' treasure in a locked room. The bow was a present from Iphitos whom Odysseus (Ulysses) had met one day at Orsilochus. Odysseus (Ulysses), then a young man, had been sent to the...

  Odysseus (Ulysses) did not sleep, trying to calm the anger that rose in him at the sight of the cheerful maids who went to sleep with the suitors. Then Athena appeared to him as a woman, but he immediately recognized the goddess and told her of his helplessness...

  At Odysseus (Ulysses)' request, Telemachus sent away the women. Then, as Athena provided light with her golden lamp, they both carried helmets, spears and shields to the treasure. Telemachus told his father of the prodigy he witnessed: he saw the walls, beams...

  An extremely gluttonous beggar, without strength or vigour but of very good appearance, arrived in the great hall. His name was Arne, but the young men nicknamed him Iros because he carried all the messages. He wanted to drive out the beggar-Odysseus (Ulysses)...

  Telemachus, declaring that he did not want to take care of him, entrusted the "beggar" to Eumaeus to take him to the city while he himself would go to Penelope's house. Upon his arrival at the manor, he was greeted by Euryclia and then by his mother, to whom he...

  Telemachus was greeted by the dogs of Eumaeus, who wagged their tails without barking, and then by the swineherd himself, who could not hold back his joy and his displays of tenderness. By virtue of the sacred laws of hospitality, he assured Eumaeus that he...

  While these events were taking place in Ithaca, Athena went at night to Telemachus who was in Sparta at Menelaus with Pisistratus, Nestor's son. She urged him to return, informing him that Penelope's father and brothers were urging her to marry Eurymachos. She...

  During Odysseus (Ulysses)' absence, without consulting Laertes or Penelope, Eumaeus had built a pigsty of twelve magnificent stables side by side and backed by a circular wall. Each stable contained fifty sows that had given birth. Under the care of four dogs,...

  On the last day Odysseus (Ulysses) spent with the Phaeacians, Alcinous sacrificed an ox in honour of Zeus. The hero thanked them for their hospitality and presents, and all feasted. When night fell, he greeted queen Arete one last time, then reached the boat...

  Telemachus and Pisistratus arrived at Menelaus’ home on the same day that he was celebrating the wedding of his two children: those of his daughter Hermione with Neoptolemus, son of Achilles, according to the promise made in Troad, and those of his bastard but...

  As the day rose, Telemachus' boat approached Pylos. It was the city of Neleus and his son Nestor. On the shore, black bulls were sacrificed in honour of Azure-haired Poseidon. The Pylians were divided into groups of five hundred, with nine bulls per group....

  The next morning, Telemachus convened the assembly of Achaeans with long hair. As some asked why, Telemachus addressed the nobles present in the assembly. He complained that their sons were ruining his house and harassing his mother for almost four years to...